In explosion-prone areas, on drilling rigs, for example, the electrical energies applied to external electronic interfaces of an electrically operated device can ignite a gas-air mixture present in an explosion-prone area and thus cause it to explode. This is true most particularly for highly reactive gas mixtures such as mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen, for which said electrical energy is supplied as activation energy to initiate an exothermic reaction forming water from hydrogen and oxygen. A similar situation arises with gas mixtures of acetylene and oxygen.
In this context, it is known to provide pressure-resistant housings in which electrically operated devices can be accommodated if they are to be used in an explosion-prone area. Such conventional housings also serve to protect the device from effects of external shock or impact. However, it has been found to be a drawback of such pressure-resistant housings that control elements present on the electrically operated device, such as a push-button switch or the like, cannot be actuated by the device operator when the electrically operated device is accommodated in the interior space of the housing. A consequence of this may be that the electrical device can only be used for its intended purpose in a limited way, or not at all.